Rangers @ Leafs - Mar. 25th, 7:30pm - SN

[Arn]

I hear this narrative, 'the owners don't care about winning cuz they're making money' and I just don't think that is the case. These owners know that winning will bring in a lot more money and they've spent money in trying to win. Shanahan must have been a top paid NHL executive (if not the top paid executive) and they set a record spending on a coach.

I think not firing Berube and Treliving now is so they can do a proper reset in the offseason, not for monetary reasons. It'll give them more time to hire the best candidate and do more research. Sure they could fire Berube now, but it wouldn't cost them anything more because they wouldn't hire a new coach this season, they would just put an interim tag on Lalonde. Same goes for Treliving, they just slap an interim tag on Pridham so they're going to be no cost savings/spending with either of those moves.

I imagine you'll see a return of a team President this offseason depending on who is available. I have no idea what GM they will bring in, no one is screaming off the page for me. I'd be shocked if the new coach isn't Pete Deboer.

This team spends though. They give every middling player a huge signing bonus and they're will to spend on players and facilities. Honestly, at this point I think this is a vanity project for Ed Rogers and I have no doubt he is trying to win. Easier said than done. Hiring Treliving was not the right move and the Leafs are paying for it now.

You’re much much more optimistic than me.

 

[dappleganger]

You’re much much more optimistic than me.

I've seen this ownership group win a Championship with the Raptors and last year should have won with the Blue Jays if it weren't for terrible bad luck while spending all the money.

But yes, I probably am too optimistic and probably more optimistic than most.

 

[Bill_Berg]

I've seen this ownership group win a Championship with the Raptors and last year should have won with the Blue Jays if it weren't for terrible bad luck while spending all the money.

But yes, I probably am too optimistic and probably more optimistic than most.

I'm a pessimist in that I think they are willing to spend the money, they want to win, but are so bad at it, they don't win.

 

[Bender]

I don't fault the players for winning. I don't fault the younger guys for being motivated. I do fault the coach for using mediocre veterans over younger players. I do fault the GM for only calling up 2.5 players (and really Pezzetta while a fun energy guy is not really a guy who has the potential to move the needle in any way next year).

These two wins have essentially taken the Leafs out of the race to make the bottom 5. Now that this has happened I'm sure we will go on to finish 2-7-0 to hand Boston the 6th or 7th pick. Berube's system of getting outshot 2:1 every game has really killed my interest in the Leafs this year.

I get the first part but getting angry over two wins is a little much. Would you only be happy if the Leafs lost every game remaining?

 

[L K]

I get the first part but getting angry over two wins is a little much. Would you only be happy if the Leafs lost every game remaining?

It's not anger over the 2 wins. It's frustration that we are playing a guy like Quillan 9 minutes in a game we win. If we are winning games because Cowan/Robertson/Groulx/Quillan are getting top minutes...if we call up Villeneuve and see if there is even a remote chance he can play in the NHL...fantastic.

It's that we are just overrelying on the top end talent we still have to try and win games. The Leafs were never going to go 0-15 down the stretch. But we aren't deploying the roster in a way to suggests the organization understands what we are.